Wildfires ‘threaten Chernobyl fallout area’

Wildfires in Russia: The burnt-out trunk of a tree in a forest near Moscow (AFP/Getty)

Greenpeace said the 600 wildfires, sparked by the hottest summer ever registered in Russia, could engulf the regions still affected by radioactive fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl accident.

The Emergency Situations Ministry’s branch in the western Bryansk region which suffered worst from the Chernobyl catastrophe in what is now Ukraine said today it spotted several wildfires in the area over the past few days and quickly put them out. It said it increased patrols to prevent more blazes.

Emergency officials say that about 165,000 people and 39 firefighting aircraft are battling blazes nationwide.